34-year-old Abdullah, who is known as "Little Hercules" due to his height and aims to compete in the Paralympic Games to be held in 2028, continues his preparations with 4 hours of training 6 days a week.
Abdullah, who won Turkish, European and world championships and came second in the Paralympic Games in his career, continues his training under the management of Weightlifting and Physically Disabled National Team Coach Mehmet Semih Ceylan.
Abdullah Kayapınar told the AA correspondent that he started weightlifting in 2014, when he was working as a waiter in a restaurant, with the guidance of his trainer Semih Ceylan.
Stating that he has dozens of championships in his career and nearly 100 medals, Abdullah said, "I have won Turkish, European and world championships. I narrowly missed the Olympic championship and came in second. Hopefully, it will be better if I achieve that too. I would like to see myself at the top, like Hamza Yerlikaya, Taha Akgül and Naim Süleymanoğlu, and be a legend next to them." he said.
Stating that nothing prevents success, Abdullah stated that he trains under the supervision of his coach Semih Ceylan.
"I want to break a record in the 2028 Olympics"
Explaining that he gained heavy weight during training, Abdullah said, "I am trying to improve myself by motivating myself. Alhamdulillah, success comes when you work hard. It is important to work constantly, I will continue to work tirelessly and tirelessly." he said.
Recalling that he narrowly missed the championship and received a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, Abdullah said:
"I went with the aim of becoming a champion, but my destiny was to come second. It was a bit bittersweet, but thank God, we had our flag raised in the sky. Hopefully, we will break the record in the 2028 Olympics, sing our National Anthem, and return to our country with pride. We have the world championship to be held in Bahrain in November. Hopefully, we will break our world record there and present the gold medal to our country. We will continue to work as much as we can."
"The only thing we miss is the gold medal in the Olympics"
Coach Semih Ceylan reminded that Abdullah missed the championship by 1 kilogram in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Stating that they continue to work without a break, Ceylan said, "We aim to become champions in the Olympics to be held in Los Angeles. Abdullah became champion in the first world championship held in Egypt after the Olympics and added the world championship to his career. He broke the record and became champion in the European Championship held in Tbilisi in March." he said.
Emphasizing that the only missing medal in Abdullah's career is the Paralympic Games championship, Ceylan said:
"We will have it, God willing, at the Olympics to be held in Los Angeles in 2028. Abdullah sets an example for our athletes with both his sports discipline and his life. Abdullah also has the distinction of being the first male Turkish athlete to win a medal in para weightlifting at the Paralympic Games. Especially families with disabled children should not lock their children at home. Our Ministry of Youth and Sports, our state, has very large facilities and coaches who deal with these matters. Guide your children so that they do not stay at home and hold on to life through sports. The biggest thing for this is The example is Abdullah."
